Spectator Music presents: the album that changed my life — To Pimp a Butterfly

I’m gonna be honest with you, I’m not the biggest music fan. I really love rap music, but that’s about it. There are some artists or songs that stick out to me, but usually if it’s some underground, unpopular band, I probably don’t want to listen to it. For that reason, I can only think of one album that actually changed my life and that would be “To Pimp a Butterfly” by Kendrick Lamar.

Like I’m sure most people do, I associate different albums with different years of my life. Back when “To Pimp a Butterfly” came out, I was in my second semester of college. When it first came out, it was all I would listen to for months. That same semester, I made my first short film, and I even used the song “King Kunta” from the album for the major scene. I absolutely loved this album.

The reason it had such an impact on me was all just timing. I was far away from home and would get home sick quite a lot. Being at a bigger school for my first two years, it would take around 30 minutes to get to my first class of the day, everyday.

Instead of riding the bus, I would walk the route and listen to the album pretty much on full blast, dancing and mouthing the words all the way. Then, on the way home, I would listen to the second half of it. This album just makes me happy every time I listen to it.

I might not be in the “target audience” for Lamar when he made the album, but I just felt like it was made for me. While it wasn’t a bad time of my life at all, I always just missed home and “To Pimp a Butterfly” always managed to cheer me back up.

Now, nearly three years later, going back to the album is like re-reading your favorite book. I still get the same feeling when I hear the opening crackle of “Wesley’s Theory,” like I had been thrown into a time machine and taken to a much different stage in life.

While my music knowledge outside of rap is probably pretty pathetic, I can still say “To Pimp a Butterfly” changed my life, and I still hold it close to my heart and probably will for a long time.

The 2017 Graduate Artist Student Presentations took place on Nov. 16 and were presented by the Graduate Art Association. The presentations were hosted by Kyle Reidmiller and included student artists Matthew Coté, Sara Catapano, Ben Frederick, and Hannah Pierce.

As homes, cities and lives were shaken this year by the destructive natural force trifecta known as hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, education took no backseat to the disruption these super storms inflicted.